Festival celebrates 50th anniversary of Doolittle Center

The Doolittle Community Center has been a beacon of hope for many in the community for 50 years.

“This has been a gathering spot for the neighborhood,” says Nicole Koerwitz, the city’s principal community program specialist for the Doolittle Community Center. “This is the center or the core of this community.”

To honor the center’s history, the city of Las Vegas is hosting the 18th annual Unity Festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the center at 1950 J. St. It is free and open to the public.

Koerwitz says that over the years the neighborhood has used the center for after-school tutoring for youth, children’s martial arts and dance classes, parenting classes for adults, a computer lab and a gym.

“It’s more than just a place for people to socialize at,” she says. “Doolittle is a household name.”

The center was named after Army Gen. James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle Sr., the World War II aviator whose family donated the land to create the center.

More than just being an activity center, sometimes Doolittle, which was renovated in 2003, has served as a haven.

“Kids come here because they know it is a safe place to come and hang out,” Koerwitz says.

The center even offers free snacks around 4 p.m. for anyone 18 or younger. “A lot of kids come here to grab a meal they might not get,” she says.

Las Vegas City Councilman Ricki Barlow is one of several community leaders who grew up at the center and now gets to see other families enjoy it the way he did.

Every summer, Barlow hosts a summer pool party to teach children about water safety. Watching the children splash around the updated pool area, which now includes a slide for children, brings Barlow back to the days when he was a child and coming to the Doolittle Community Center.

“I have fond memories baking in the sun and being in the pool,” he says. “It is crazy for me to think about now I represent the area I was born and raised in and I can provide new amenities for these children to create memories like I did.”

Barlow has been coming to the Doolittle Community Center since he began walking.

“My main thing was going to the pool,” he says. “The big kids dominated the one basketball court so the rest of us went to the pool.”

Without the center, there weren’t many activities he would have been able to participate in.

“We would go to the desert and trap snakes or ants,” he says. “But there wasn’t really anything else for us to do.”

Even when the pool was closed, Barlow remembers a few times climbing the decorative stones of the wall to get into the pool area.

He recognized the center was a haven, even in his day.

“It was at a time where kids were starting to form groups,” he says. “It was tough to leave your area and travel to another neighborhood without getting into an altercation with these groups.”

But the Doolittle Center was a neutral zone where everyone gathered and played despite differences.

It’s hard to believe the center has been around for 50 years, Barlow adds.

“It’s even more of a resource than it was in my day,” he says. “There are more options. Now, there is a computer lab, workout facilities and classes.”

People are invited to check out all the facility has to offer at the Unity Festival. The event also includes vendors, games and entertainment.

Koerwitz says entertainment will have a multigenerational focus with performances from children’s and senior groups.

She adds children ages 6 to 10 can sign up for a one-hour free basketball and soccer clinic in the morning. There is also expected to be a health and wellness fair.

This isn’t the only time the anniversary will be honored.

“In October, we plan to have a gala honoring some people in the community,” Koerwitz says.

She foresees the center and its mission to keep growing.

“We will be adding additional programming in the future,” she says. “We want to broaden the types of classes and programs we have.”

Contact reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5201. Follow @mjlyle on Twitter.